About the Issue
The “Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag” issue in Google Search Console means that there are two or more versions of a page on your website with the same canonical URL. Google will exclude the duplicate versions and index the main(canonical) version of the page. A canonical URL is the URL for the “main” version of a duplicated page.
According to Google Search Central, This page is marked as an alternate of another page (that is, an AMP page with a desktop canonical, or a mobile version of a desktop canonical, or the desktop version of a mobile canonical). This page correctly points to the canonical page, which is indexed, so there is nothing you need to do. Alternate language pages are not detected by Search Console.
This issue can arise from various scenarios, and fixing it requires a strategic approach to ensure that search engines correctly index your content.
What is a Canonical Tag?
A canonical tag (<link rel=”canonical” href=”URL”>) is an HTML element used to prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the “preferred” version of a web page. When multiple URLs have similar or identical content, the canonical tag helps search engines understand which version should be indexed and ranked in search results. This ensures that SEO efforts are concentrated on a single URL, improving its visibility and preventing dilution of ranking signals across multiple pages.
How to Check the Canonical URL for the Reported URLs
Before you can fix canonical issues, you need to verify the current canonical URL for the reported URLs. Here’s how to check them:
1. Use the Google Search Console
- Navigate to the “Coverage” report.
- Find the specific URL reported under “Alternate page with proper canonical tag.”
- Click on the URL to see details, including the canonical URL recognized by Google.
2. From Page Source Code
- Open the reported URL in your browser.
- Right-click on the page and select “Inspect” or press Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (Mac).
- Go to the “Elements” tab and search for the <link rel=”canonical”> tag to see the specified canonical URL.
3. Use Online SEO Tools
- Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Screaming Frog can crawl your site and report the canonical URLs set for each page.
How to Fix
There are multiple solutions to fix the “Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag” issue depending on the reported URLs. You can mark the reported URLs as noindex, block them via robots.txt, correct their canonical URLs, or remove internal links to incorrect URLs.
First Scenario: String Query URLs
String query URLs are those with parameters that may include search or filter queries. Here’s how to handle them:
i) Filter or Search URLs
- Problem: These URLs often contain recommended product, random, search, or filter parameters in URLs and should not be indexed as they do not offer unique content.
- Solution: Block these URLs using the robots.txt file to prevent search engines from crawling them. This method ensures that these URLs are not indexed and do not affect your site’s crawl budget.
ii) Tracking and Other string query String Query URLs
- Problem: Tracking or other product variant string query urls which often contain parameters for tracking purposes, should not be blocked but also should not be indexed.
- Solution: Add a noindex meta tag to these URLs to instruct search engines not to index them. This will help avoid cluttering your index with non-essential URLs while keeping tracking functionality intact.
Second Scenario: Same Page Accessible by Multiple URLs
Sometimes, the same content is accessible through different URLs, such as:
- URL Examples:
https://domain.com/products
vs.
https://domain.com/products?page=1 or https://domain.com/products/page/1/. - And
https://domain.com/collection/all/product/cap
vs.
https://domain.com/product/cap - Problem: Both URLs display the same content, leading to potential duplicate content issues.
- Solution: To fix these types of URLs ensure that the canonical URL for the paginated or other URLs points to the canonical URL (e.g., https://domain.com/products). Additionally, avoid internal linking to these paginated URLs to conserve crawl budget and avoid indexing unnecessary variations.
Third Scenario: Incorrect Custom Links Setup
- Problem: Custom canonical URLs might be set incorrectly, such as a URL https://domain.com/category/for-men having a canonical tag pointing to https://domain.com/blogs.
- Solution: To fix this issue correct the canonical URLs to reflect the actual preferred version of the page. This involves updating the canonical tag in the HTML to ensure it points to the correct, authoritative URL.
Fourth Scenario: Incorrect Internal Links
- Problem: Internal links might not match the canonical URL, for instance, having internal links without trailing slashes (https://domain.com/page) when the canonical URL includes a trailing slash (https://domain.com/page/). And when google found these type of URLs and crawled them these will be reported in the Alternate page with proper canonical tag issue.
- Solution: To fix it, correct the internal links to match the canonical URLs exactly. Ensure that all internal links are consistent with the canonical version of the page, including trailing slashes if applicable. This helps prevent discrepancies and ensures that search engines are not confused by varying URL formats. After removing internal links you can also add a redirection from incorrect url to correct canonical url.
Fifth Scenario: AMP URls
If the reported URLs are AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) URLs, no fixes are required. These AMP pages correctly have a canonical URL pointing to the non-AMP version. Google indexes the canonical non-AMP page, and when a user accesses the page from a mobile device, they are automatically shown the AMP version for faster loading.
Conclusion
Fixing the “Alternate page with proper canonical tag” issue involves a thorough review of your site’s URLs and canonical tags. By following the outlined solutions, blocking irrelevant string query URLs, handling pagination correctly, fixing incorrect canonical links, and ensuring consistent internal links; you can improve your site’s SEO performance and avoid potential indexing issues. Regular audits and adherence to SEO best practices will help maintain a clean and efficient indexing structure.
FAQs
A canonical tag is an HTML element used to indicate the preferred version of a page to search engines. It helps avoid duplicate content issues by specifying which URL should be indexed.
You can use Google Search Console to identify canonical tag issues. Look for reports of alternate pages with proper canonical tags and review the URLs reported for any inconsistencies.
Add a noindex meta tag to tracking URLs to prevent them from being indexed by search engines, while allowing tracking functionality to continue.
Regularly audit your site at least quarterly to identify and fix canonical tag issues before they impact your SEO performance.
Yes, incorrect internal links can cause confusion for search engines and waste crawl budget, leading to potential SEO issues. Ensure all internal links match the canonical URLs.
